FlexBlue of SCHMID Vacuum Technology GmbH successfully transferred to production

16.02.2016 |

The SCHMID Vacuum Technology GmbH, a company specialized for high-vacuum machine manufacturing within the SCHMID Group, founded in 2010, has successfully completed the final acceptance test of the first high-vacuum web coating system FlexBlue at the end of November 2015. The system has been run for a variety of different applications, including the deposition of ITO sputter coated touch panel films and other functional layers, at a leading Chinese manufacturer of optical and electrical films, a branch of Shantou Wanshun Package Material Stock Co., Ltd.

“With the knowledge and passion of our experts it became possible to develop, design and build such multi-purpose and very complex machines, and to put them into operation. The success of these activities reconfirms our company strategy”, declares Helmut Rauch, Managing Director of the SCHMID Vacuum Technology GmbH. “This defines another significant milestone, underlining SCHMID’s expertise to setup new technologies in innovative markets.”

The customer, Shantou Wanshun Package Material Stock Co., Ltd., chose SCHMID to strengthen his position in the emerging markets. Since coating technologies are more than ever subject to rapid change, the need to respond to such change is greater than ever before. “We are proud to partner with SCHMID Vacuum Technology GmbH, to strengthen our market position and gather the flexibility for enhanced coating technology”, expresses Mr. Du, President of Shantou Wanshun Package Material Stock Co., Ltd.

Martin Poellmann, Director Sales at SCHMID Vacuum Technology GmbH, highlights the advantages of the system that coats polymer films up to a width of 1,700 mm and a length of typically 2,000 m and well above – depending on the application – with a thin layer stack of up to 5 layers: “The machine design allows the competitive and economic coating of technical layer stacks. Due to the well-engineered gas separation factors between the coating compartments, plus the best dynamic deposition rates in the market of roll-to-roll coaters, the productivity of the FlexBlue is proven at a high level.” The FlexBlue system´s flexibility to various applications offers an outperforming advantage to the customer.

The FlexBlue is capable of providing layer stacks, by means of reactive and non-reactive processes under vacuum, to serve different markets.

Martin Poellmann concludes: “After a period of optimization of various processes, we have achieved our goal to qualify the FlexBlue for diverse applications. We are very proud of the qualification of this complex system and happy to have transferred the FlexBlue into production.”